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May Day protests turn violent in Seattle

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May Day protests turn violent in Seattle01:24

Photos:May Day protests around the world

Photos:May Day protests around the world

In pictures: May Day protests around the world – Hundreds of supporters of Marine Le Pen, leader of France's far-right National Front party, took to the streets on May Day Wednesday as part of the day's celebrations in images captured by iReporter Batareykin.

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Photos:May Day protests around the world

May Day protests around the world – A police officer and demonstrator clash during May Day demonstrations in Seattle on Wednesday, May 1. A peaceful protest turned violent, and police say they sprayed demonstrators with pepper spray after they threw everything from metal pipes to fireworks at officers. Hundreds of thousands of people across the globe take to the streets on May 1 to demand better working conditions during what is known as International Workers' Day.

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Photos:May Day protests around the world

In pictures: May Day protests around the world – iReporter TTeixeira captured this image from a May Day protest in Porto, Portugal. "People protested with great order, but showed discontent against the government who they blame for this economic crisis," she said. "They want the government to resign and the Troika out of this country."

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Photos:May Day protests around the world

May Day protests around the world – Tens of thousands of workers and labor activists march through the central business district in Jakarta, Indonesia.

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Photos:May Day protests around the world

In pictures: May Day protests around the world – Photographer Michael Kandel was out at the May Day protest in Washington yesterday evening when protesters veered off the marching path and stormed a GAP store. Police intervened to secure the entrance and a skirmish broke out, according to CNN.

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Photos:May Day protests around the world

May Day protests around the world – Demonstrators in Madrid take part in a Labor Day protest against the Spanish government's austerity policies.

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Photos:May Day protests around the world

May Day protests around the world – Indonesian workers wearing ant costumes to depict the exploitation of workers participate in a march to the presidential palace in Jakarta.

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Photos:May Day protests around the world

May Day protests around the world – In Taipei, Taiwan, more than 20,000 workers staged a protest against President Ma Ying-jeou's pension reforms.

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Photos:May Day protests around the world

May Day protests around the world – Police prepare behind a line of barbed wire before thousands of Indonesian workers arrive outside the presidential palace in Jakarta.

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Photos:May Day protests around the world

May Day protests around the world – Members and sympathizers of the Hungarian communist party, the "Munkaspart," march in Budapest.

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Photos:May Day protests around the world

May Day protests around the world – A protestor holds an oversized mask of billionaire tycoon Li Ka-shing, the chairman of Hutchison Whampoa, as hundreds of dock workers protest pay and working conditions in Hong Kong.

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Photos:May Day protests around the world

May Day protests around the world – People march in a May Day demonstration Athens.

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Photos:May Day protests around the world

May Day protests around the world – Participants raise their fists during a demonstration in Athens.

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Photos:May Day protests around the world

In pictures: May Day protests around the world – A May Day protestor uses catapults during clashes in Istanbul.

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Photos:May Day protests around the world

May Day protests around the world – Supporters of the nationalist party Red and Black march in Tirana, Albania, demand the resignation of Premier Sali Berisha.

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Photos:May Day protests around the world

May Day protests around the world – An elderly activist attends a traditional May Day Communist rally in Moscow.

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In pictures: May Day protests around the world – Government employees protest for better pay and job security in Srinagar, India.

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Photos:May Day protests around the world

May Day protests around the world – Demonstrators march against the Spanish government's austerity policies in Barcelona.

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May Day protests around the world – A Cambodian worker stands on a vehicle as he attends a May Day protest in Phnom Penh.

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May Day protests around the world – Indian members of the All India Trade Union Congress take part in a rally in Hyderabad.

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May Day protests around the world – Russian communist party activists carry red flags and banners during their traditional May Day rally in Moscow.

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Other demonstrators ran through the fog created by tear gas wearing masks and holding protests signs.

A woman who was driving by the protest scene was wounded, slashed by glass, when a protester hurled a glass bottle at her car, shattering her window, police said. She was treated by a medic at the scene.

"Things have quieted down for the night. Officers will continue to patrol ," the department tweeted early Thursday morning.

The clashes came after a day of peaceful marches in the city, CNN affiliate KING reported.

Hundreds of thousands of people across the globe take to the streets on May 1 to demand better working conditions during what is known as International Workers' Day.

In Washington on Wednesday, two May Day groups, with differing views, fought in Lafayette Park near the White House, police said.

The skirmish, between a group calling itself the White Student Union and another, the May Day Workers, escalated as combatants threw bags of urine and flag poles at each other.

One person was arrested, U.S. Park Police said.

"We were here to protest communism and to stand up for the blue collar working class. And then I got urine thrown on me," said Matthew Heimbach, president of the White Student Union. "So it shows really how tolerant these people are."

John Zangas, who was with the May Day Workers, said people were offended by some of the statements from the White Student Union.

"I don't even want to characterize them but they're fairly bigoted," said Zangas.